In the liquid distribution industry, such as bottling and canning operations and liquid fuel deliveries, such as oil and gasoline, it is necessary to use temporary hose connections between the tanks storing the liquid and bottling equipment or tanks receiving the liquid. It is possible, if the operator is not careful, to introduce the wrong liquid into the wrong production line or storage tank because multiple hoses can be used simultaneously in large bottling facilities and multiple tanks used on delivery trucks and multiple tanks can be used to store the liquid at the sites. This mix-up could be quite costly and time-consuming to correct the error.
To prevent the mix-up between hoses, tanks, and bottling and canning equipment, it is highly desirable to have an automatic identification system, that will quickly and accurately verify that the interconnect hoses are connected to the correct ports. This disclosure partially pertains to techniques of identifying the hose connections and the ports to which they are attached to. It is very important that the identification is easily achieved, accurate, and cost-effective. Two different methods of identification are employed. The first uses the barcode technology and the second uses RFID technology. Both systems use a portable scanner, with wireless communications back to a central processor that either verifies the hose connections are correct or alerts the operator if there is an incorrect connection.